Run DMC
Crown Royal
(Arista)
Grade: A-
As the sub-par tracks on A Rap Collection show all too clearly, old rappers do not usually age well. If they don't vanish entirely, ‡ lˆ Kool Moe Dee, the best most rap veterans can hope for is an acting career spiced by the occasional soundtrack single. Otherwise, they're caught in limbo: Attempts to hop on the next rap trend (MC Hammer's "gangsta" persona) usually fail embarrassingly, and hip-hop is still too fresh for an oldies circuit. For most old-school performers, this means trouble - Sir Mix-a-lot was last spotted playing a free Halloween party at Stanford.
Into this dubious arena comes Run DMC, possibly the ultimate hip-hop veterans. But unlike the sad has-beens on A Rap Collection, Run DMC and Jam Master Jay aren't cashing in on their legacy. Although they've been off their game the last few years (Run - the Reverend Run, that is - even has his own church somewhere), these primordial hip-hoppers still have their chops.
The production, an updated version of their old-school sound, is tight and energetic, the beats catchy and intoxicating. The rhyming is white-hot, especially by today's lax standards - as products of a time when MCs actually had to have skills to pay the bills, Run DMC put most of today's rap game to shame. No rhyming "uh" with "uh" on this disc.
A host of guest stars from both rap and rap-metal only add to the fun - Run DMC even make Fred Durst look good. While their claim to the hip-hop throne is a lot more disputed than it was in 1984, these self-proclaimed "Kings of Hip-Hop" make a good case - Crown Royal is indeed a crowning achievement.
